A Montreal couple are livid after they were given a $441 ticket for walking their Yorkie without proper tags.
Anouk Rees and Fred Gaube said they were walking their dog Teddy at Beaver Lake on Saturday when animal control officers approached them asked if the pooch was registered.
“I thought he would give me a warning or something like that and then I ended up getting a $441 fine,” said Gaube.
While Teddy had ID tags, he had not been registered with the city. Owners are required to register their pets with their borough, which carries a $25 fee for sterilized dogs and $60 for non-sterilized dogs. Fines for not registering can run between $300 to $600, even for a first offence.
The couple said they were shocked at how steep the fine was.
“I was really mad, I was not happy at all,” said Gaube.
The dog lovers said they’re happy to register Teddy but don’t feel the punishment fit the crime in this case. They said they plan to contest the ticket.
“It seems more dangerous to have a little Yorkshire on a leash than to go through a stop sign,” said Gaube.
Animal rescuer Maggie Shuter said she worries that high fines like that given to Gaube and Rees could lead to more of Montreal’s pets being abandoned and said warnings should be given before any tickets.
“There should be some kind of notices when you walk in saying ‘Please note that if you’re going to be walking your dog here, you need to have a license to do so,’” she said.
